Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

In response to the member for Port Adelaide's question, let me begin with two overarching principles: I began this discussion of the portfolio budget by framing it in the context of the $240 billion deficit overrun which occurred over the last six years. This is done against the backdrop of an extraordinarily expensive national budgetary crisis which we have faced, so it is something that we have always intended to address and which we said we would address. The second background item here is that the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement has been completed. Much of the preparatory work for that has been done by the National Water Commission and we have seen, with the grand achievement of the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement having been endorsed by all relevant states, that we now have an operating system which we can all be proud of.

The role of the National Water Commission—as somebody who was integrally involved in helping to establish it—was first and foremost aimed at ensuring that we would reach the Holy Grail of a Murray-Darling Basin agreement. That was its raison d'etre, its purpose, its reason for existence. We have achieved that primary outcome. Institutions at a governmental level are not necessarily meant to live forever. It is sometimes a mark of their success that they have achieved their outcomes. In a government with over 900 different agencies, organisations or commissions, if they can then be slimmed down to a number which might well end up being half of that then I think that is a sign of success.

In this particular case, we think that the National Water Commission achieved its outcomes. The Murray-Darling Basin Agreement was a fundamental outcome. We are proud of what has happened. I particularly want to congratulate my Parliamentary Secretary, Senator Simon Birmingham, a senator for South Australia. He worked to complete the task which had begun at COAG in 2004 with the Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative. That task has been significantly achieved.

In terms of the monitoring and reporting, I can make a statement to the parliament that the functions will overwhelmingly be adopted by the Department of the Environment. They will be brought within the relevant water unit. I think they are well-equipped and capable of handling those functions and will do that with great distinction.

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